Monday, January 07, 2008

"You dig it?"

How does slang hinder and help out communication? What about on an international/regional/generational level? What does slang bring to a language? Is it more of a hinderance or a help?

1 comment:

Rick_Andrews_Director said...

Slang is never going to go away. People want simplicity, and that's why slang develops. Slang offers a pragmatic and easy way to convey one's thoughts without having to greatly explain it. This is where slang is actually helpful, it makes acquiring knowledge easier within that given group.

That's also the limitation, slang is only useful within that certain group, outsiders won't understand it. Also, because a slang word sometimes contains so much meaning, it can be misinterpreted, maybe even by people in the same group. Although slang offers simplicity, that's one of its hindrances, it's too simple. Sometimes, we need to greatly explain something for some people to understand it, and slang can not offer that.

Rick Andrews